Ellen DeGeneres is taking a stand against the Taiwanese government’s plan to infect unvaccinated beagle puppies with rabies.
Despite the solid consensus among rabies experts, veterinarians, and scientists around the world that all strains of rabies can infect warm-blooded animals, the Taiwanese Council of Agriculture plans to test the infectivity of a recently discovered strain of the virus by injecting it into 210 mice, 36 ferret-badgers and 14 beagle puppies. These tests are completely unnecessary and will produce no benefit for human health. Ellen DeGeneres is leading a global push to cancel the cruel experiments.
“As a long-time advocate for the welfare of animals, I would like to join the many physicians, scientists, and veterinarians who have encouraged the Taiwanese government to avoid experimenting on live animals in its efforts to combat the rabies virus in Taiwan,” Ellen writes in her letter.
The Physicians Committee — a nonprofit of concerned physicians, scientists, and citizens — has also denounced the experiments as regressive and unscientific.
